Bad news for kulu as Spurs already in talks to seal £60M Summer signing

With Heung-min Son set to return from the Asia Cup, Tottenham Hotspur strengthened their roster during the January transfer window, and Ange Postecoglou will be optimistic that his team can reach their objectives by the end of the season.

What is the Australian’s precise goal? Spurs were in complete disarray when he took over in the summer, and after an eighth-place Premier League result, it became certain that club record scorer Harry Kane would be leaving after many years of service.

It was a setback, but Tottenham invested well to give Postecoglou the greatest opportunity of succeeding, and even while the 2023–24 season showed a lot of promise, much work still needed to be done.

Chairman Daniel Levy moved quickly to reinforce the current crop, bringing in tough-tackling Radu Dragusin to replace Eric Dier and bolstering the front line with Timo Werner, previously of Chelsea, when the winter market gave the ideal chance.

The focus now is to create a purple patch that will guarantee a place in the top four by the conclusion of the game, and qualifying for the Champions League is crucial to the story of Tottenham’s summer investment.

Summer transfer targets for Spurs
Barcelona star Raphinha is one player who has lately been linked to a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium; however, he would probably only consider a transfer if Postecoglou could demonstrate the attraction of Europe’s elite league.

The La Liga winners have reportedly already received a bid from Spurs around €70 million (£60 million), with Liverpool showing interest as well, given the uncertainty surrounding Mohamed Salah’s future. This information comes from the Spanish publication Sport.

Due to their financial difficulties, Barcelona may be persuaded to sell the Brazilian in order to raise money, while Tottenham needs greater depth in order to contend on many fronts the next season.

Why Raphinha is of interest to the Spurs

After being praised by presenter Oscar Marrio for his “unplayable” performances in the Premier League, Raphinha was bought by Barcelona in 2022 for a fee of £55 million, defeating interest from Arsenal and Chelsea.

Raphinha, who won the Spanish premier league under Xavi’s tutelage the previous season, made an impression despite never seeming like the most vital player in Barcelona’s lineup, and considering the team’s financial struggles, it wouldn’t be out of the question to think that cashing in would be a desirable choice.

The 28-year-old has only played eight La Liga games this season, but despite that, he has three goals and five assists, completed 80% of his passes, successfully completed 59% of his dribbles, and averaged 1.7 critical passes per game. All of this, according to Sofascore.

Raphinha, a right-sided winger, isn’t the most productive player, but he is technically sound, has excellent delivery accuracy, and a natural creative flair that would add another element to Tottenham’s assault.

He is in fact in the top 8% of offensive midfielders and wingers in Europe’s top five leagues for assists during the previous season, in the top 11% for actions that create shots, in the top 15% for passes attempted, and in the top 5% for progressive passes received per 90. This information is based on FBref.

Given James Maddison’s playmaking conduit role at No. 10, this last metric—which highlights his lofty position up the right channel—could prove to be especially significant. He looks to grasp onto passes and thread balls into the box from the wing.

Though it’s obvious that Barcelona would want to recoup the money they spent to bring Raphinha to Camp Nou a year and a half ago, it’s debatable if Tottenham should spend so much money on the player—especially considering that he would upset Dejan Kulusevski.

Bad News For Dejan Kulusevski

Charlie Eccleshare of The Athletic has called Kulusevski the “unsung hero” of the London club, noting that he has been instrumental under Postecoglou’s direction this season, working relentlessly to infuse his squad with flare and vitality.

This season, in 21 Premier League games, the 23-year-old has averaged 2.2 critical passes, 1.7 tackles, 4.3 ball recoveries, and five goals while completing 83% of his passes. He has also provided two assists.

Although Kulusevski has sometimes played centre this season and looked excellent doing so, it seems doubtful that he will play regularly in that position now that Maddison is back from injury.

Although Raphinha, referred to as a “magician” by former Leeds colleague Dan James, has qualities that Tottenham might employ in certain stages of their offensive play, he lacks the comprehensive skill set that Kulusevski, a Swedish player, possesses.

Raphinha, for instance, averages 0.5 tackles, 2.6 ball recoveries, and 2.4 successful duels per game. When combined with his high placement up the field, these statistics imply that he hangs around in places where he knows he can cause havoc.

This is good in certain ways, but Postecoglou’s system requires the utmost in application and fluency, and since Kulusevski is already performing so well, Brennan Johnson, who cost £47.5 million to sign from Nottingham Forest in the summer, adds more options and dynamic to that flank.

Kulusevski’s strength and perseverance in all areas of his game are evident as he is in the top 10% of offensive midfielders and wingers for touches in the attacking penalty area, as well as in the top 17% for tackles and the top 21% for interceptions per 90.

In the end, Spurs could still be interested in Raphinha, but it simply isn’t worth it since he won’t really be an improvement over Kulusevski and would cost a lot of money to sign.

especially considering how critical it is to get the best players in order to strengthen the system in the summer.

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